"They hit three big plays," Howell coach Aaron Metz said. "That's what got us. Other than that, we played great defense all night long. We bent a couple times defensively, but didn't break. Offensively, we've got to keep going and figure out a way to get the ball in the end zone."

Howell opened the scoring in the first quarter on a field goal by Aaron Stearn-Raskin.

Howell hosts Salem next Thursday.

"We've got to take a look at what we're doing," Metz said. "There are a lot of positives and also a lot we've got to improve on."